Attachment for life-boats.



G. H, LANGILL.

ATTACHMENT FOR LIFE BOATS.

APPLICATION FILED $EPT. 3, 1912.

Patented Dec. 16

rill/ CHARLES H. LANGILL, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

ATTACHMENT FOR LIFE-BOATS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 16,1913.

Application filed September 3, 1912. Serial No. 718,412.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES H. LANGILL, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Attachments for Life-Boats, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to releasing mechanisms whereby a supported member may be quickly and automatically released from the supporting member when its weight is removed therefrom, the device being particularly adapted for supporting boats on the davits of a vessel.

The object of the invention is to automatically release the boat from the tackle of the davits as soon as the boat settles in the water after being launched, and provision is also made whereby such releasing may be assured by a pivoted weighted hook should the automatic releasing thereof fail for any reason.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a device with means for compensating for the changes in the condition of the tackle under varying weather conditions.

The invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts which will be fully understood by reference to the description of the drawings and to the claims hereinafter given.

Of the drawings: Figure 1 represents an elevation of a davit having a tackle suspended therefrom attached to a boat adapted to be launched thereby, a portion of said boat being broken in section. Fig. 2 represents an elevation of the improved releasing device shown attached to a section of a boat and showing in dotted lines the supporting member of the tackle. Fig. 3 represents a side elevation of the same. Fig. 4; represents an elevation of the upper end of said device looking at the opposite side from Fig. 2. Fig. 5 represents an elevation of the upper portion of said device similar to Fig. 2, showing the hook member in position to release the eye of said tackle. Fig. 6 represents a horizontal section of the same drawn to an enlarged scale, the cutting plane being on line 6-6 on Fig. 4:.

Similar characters designate like parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

In the drawings, 10 represents a davit having secured thereto the usual tackle 11 from which is suspended an eye 12. Through the eye 12 extends the hook 13 pro vlded with a shank 1% extending through a member 15 having secured to its opposite end a weight 16, said weight 16 being at an angle to said hook 13 as indicated in the drawings. The hook 13 and weight 16 are normally retained in the positions shown in Figs. 2 and 4 of the drawings by means of the slidable member 17 mounted in the slot in the upper end of the member 15, said member 17 abutting one face of the upwardly extending arm 18 of the hook 13 as indicated in Fig. 2 of the drawings. The member 17 is provided with a notch 18 into which extends a finger 19 of the pivoted operating member 20 retained in its normal locking position as indicated in Fig. 6 by means of the spring 21. The upper end of the member 15 is provided with a shouldered lug 22 between which and the projecting portion of the slidable member 17 the arm 18 is normally interposed thereby preventing any movement of the hook 13 about its pivotal axis 1 1. The weight 16 is at such an angle to the hook 13 that when the looking device is moved in the direction of the arrow a on Fig. 6, the projecting end of the slidable member 17 will be moved from the path of the arm 18 and the weight 16 will be permitted to drop so that the hook 13 may be moved into the position shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings, thereby releasing the eye 12 therefrom. To the lower end of the member 15 is secured an elongated flanged projection 23, the narrower portion of which extends through and fits a link 24: adapted to have an endwise movement upon said member 23 as clearly indicated in Fig. 2 of the drawings. The lower end 24 of the link extends through the eye 25 of a bolt 26 threaded to the keelson 27 of a boat 28. The member 15 is movable vertically between guides 29 extending transversely of the boat, as indicated in Fig. 1 of the drawings.

When the boat is not in use and supported upon the members 30 the weight of the member 15 will always retain the hook 13 thereof in engagement with the eye 12 of the tackle, and as the tackle changes its condition under varying conditions of the weather the member 15 will reciprocate vertically on the link 2 1, thereby permitting the eye 12 to remain engaged with the hook without disengagement therefrom. As soon as it is desired to launch the boat and the tackle 11 is operated to lift the boat 28 from the supports 30 the weight of the boat will be sus pended from the eye 12 of the tackle by means of the hook 18, it being obvious that while only one davit, tackle, and connecting mechanism is shown the same parts are duplicated at the opposite end of the boat. As soon as the boat has been lowered and reaches the surface of the water the member 15 will come in contact with the supported member 26 and cause the automatic disengagement of the hook 13 from the eye 12 in an obvious manner. Should by any chance this automatic disengagement of the hook and eye fail, the manually controlled locking mechanism 2017 is operated, thereby permitting the weight 16 to fall and turn the hook member 18 into the position shown in Fig. 5, whereby a positive release of the eye 12 from the hook is effected.

By means of this construction a positive engagement between the hook of the supported member and the eye of the supporting member is provided at all times under all weather conditions. When the boat is launched in the usual manner as soon as it reaches the water and the eye 12 is relieved from the weight thereof an automatic disengagement from the hook results. l/Vhile the safety locking device 2017 is provided to positively release the boat in case of aocident, its operation under normal conditions is unnecessary. I

The shank 1 1 of the hook 13 has its bearing in the member 15 formed of a different metal as indicated by the sleeve 30, thereby preventing it from rusting and making its free operation possible under all conditions.

I-Ieretofore the supporting hooks for the boats are provided with mousings and when the boat is launched tools are not always at hand to out these mousings, thereby causing delay in the launching and often, in the case of marine accidents, the loss of life Where the boat is not freed from the larger vessel before the latter sinks. These objections are entirely overcome by the present device.

The operation and many advantages of this invention itis' believed will be fully understood from the foregoing description.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a device of the class described, the combination of a supporting member including an eye; a telescopic supporting member; a downwardly extending hook pivoted thereto adapted to engage said eye, said hook having its pivotal axis in the same plane with said hook; and a weight adapted to turn said hook about its pivotal axis to release said eye.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination of a supporting member provided with a flanged projection; a link through which said projection extends and secured to a member to be supported; a hook pivoted to said supporting member and adapted to engage an eye; and a weight on said hook adapted to turn about its pivotal axis to release said eye.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination of a supporting member provided with a flanged projection; a link through which said projection extends and secured to a member to be supported; a hook pivoted to said supporting member and adapted to engage an eye; a weight on said hook adapted to turn about its pivotal axis to release said eye; and locking means to prevent movement of said hook about its pivot under normal conditions,

at. In a device of the class described, the combination of a boat; davits therefor provided with the usual tackle having an eye suspended therefrom; a slotted member secured to said boat; a member provided with a flanged projection extending through said slotted member; a hook pivotally mounted therein adapted to extend normally through said eye; and a weight on said hook member adapted to turn said hook and release said eye when the weight of said boat is removed therefrom.

5. In a device of the class described, the combination of a boat; davits therefor provided with the usual tackle having an eye suspended therefrom; a slotted member secured to said boat; a member provided with a flanged projection extending through said slotted member; a hook pivotally mounted therein adapted to extend normally through said eye; a weight on said hook member adapted to turn said hook and release said eye when the weight of said boat is removed therefrom; and locking means to prevent movement of said book about its pivot under normal conditions.

6. In a device of the class described, the combination of a boat; davits therefor provided with the usual tackle having an eye suspended therefrom; a hook extending through said eye; and mechanism attached to and interposed between said boat and hook adapted to compensate for changes in conditions of said tackle under varying weather conditions.

7. In a device of the class described, the combination of a boat; davits therefor provided with the usual tackle having an eye suspended therefrom; a hook engaging said eye; mechanism secured to said hook and attached to said boat adapted to compensate for changes in condition of said tackle under varying weather conditions; and means for releasing the hook from said eye when the weight of said boat is removed therefrom.

8. In a device of the class described, the combination of a boat; davits therefor provided with the usual tackle having an eye suspended therefrom; a hook engaging said eye; mechanism secured to said hook and attached to said boat adapted to compensate for changes in condition of said tackle under Varying Weather conditions; a Weight secured to said hook member adapted under abnormal conditions to turn it about its pivot; and a manually controlled locking device for normally retaining said hook in 10 engaging position.

Signed by me at 4 Post Oflice Square, Boston Mass, this 27th day of August,

CHARLES H. LANGILL. lVitnesses:

WALTER E. LOMBARD, NATHAN C. LOMBARD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

